New Beginnings
by Song Of The Sparrow
Summary: The castaways of the F29D crash are back. When Discovery Kids decides to make a TV show of their adventures on the island, and the actual castaways get to be there for the filming... what will happen? Friendship, excitement...maybe even romance. REWRITTEN
1. Chapter I

**Title: **New Beginnings**  
Chapter: **1/?  
**Word Count: **1,296  
**Author: **Apricot Rose**  
Disclaimer: **Yes, I own the entire show and cast of Flight 29 Down. It's ALL mine. NOT!!!**  
Summary: **The castaways of the F29D crash are back. When Discovery Kids decides to make a TV show of their adventures on the island, and the actual castaways get to be there for the filming… what could happen? Friendship, excitement… maybe even romance. REWRITTEN!!

**A/N: IT'S REWRITTEN!!! PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

It was lunch hour at Hartwell High. Jackson, Melissa, Nathan, Taylor, and Daley were eating their...somewhat regular food, but hey, it was from the cafeteria. They would have to make do. It would probably be wiser to pack a lunch. But they hadn't actually really considered that. It was much more fun to buy it and then complain about it together. It was a tradition. They were wondering where Eric was, he _never_ missed a meal. Without him they couldn't start the daily complaining. It was getting annoying, they were _hungry._

"Does anyone know where Eric is?" Melissa asked, puzzled, looking around, and scanning the crowd to see if she could spot him. She couldn't understand – none of them could – why he would be late. It was _lunch time. _Hello? It was the only part of the day he actually liked. Any other part he was asleep for. The others shared her confusion, and looked around as well.

"Oh, there he is!" Daley exclaimed, pointing in a random direction for about a millisecond. Everyone looked around, not knowing exactly where Daley was pointing. She had already turned to her meal, thinking that seeing him meant she could finally eat. The others couldn't see him. But a familiar voice soon drifted down on them.

"GUYS, GUYS!!" Eric's shrill voice exclaimed. He bounced into the seat next to Nathan, not able to keep from fidgeting, "You'll NEVER guess what Discovery Kids are doing!"

"I'm sure you're going to tell us." Jackson muttered sarcastically through a mouthful of his hamburger. Melissa looked at Jackson sternly before scolding him,

"Jackson," She began, "Please spare us the sight of your half-chewed food." all of them looked at Melissa, surprised. Melissa ignored their surprised looks and continued eating. _She's changed._ Nathan marveled. In his opinion, Melissa had gotten a _lot_ stronger since they had gotten back from the island, he supposed that the experience helped her realize that she didn't deserve the treatment that she was usually given. He welcomed the change; Melissa's nervousness had always kind of annoyed him, not that he would ever tell her. And her newfound confidence had showed outwardly as well. Her clothes had become tighter – which he didn't necessarily approve of, although she didn't listen to him – and brighter. They were more colourful and more creative. More boys were now looking at her now and asking her out. Nathan had to keep stepping in, although it meant a big lecture from Melissa.

He looked between her and Jackson for a second. He wasn't sure what was going on between him, Melissa, and Taylor. They all seemed too had reached an understanding, and they were all cordial to one another. They seemed to all be stuck in the middle. Boys were taking both Melissa and Taylor on dates. Girls had approached Jackson, and they all seemed okay with it. It was the same with him and Daley. They both didn't talk about what had happened between them on the island, they were just friends. Lex and Eric seemed exasperated with all of them, but didn't really comment.

Eric stared at Melissa for a moment – having one of his exasperated moments – before returning to the subject he was _so_ excited about. "Discovery Kids is starting a TV show called...wait for it..._Flight 29 Down!!_" The others stared at him, their mouths open in shock. Eric grimaced at once, "Guys please," He pleaded, covering his eyes with a hand, "_close your MOUTHS!!_" They all blushed, and shut their mouths. Jackson immediately looked over at Melissa with a triumphant look on his face, obviously happy to have caught her in the same position that she had scolded him for. She stuck her tongue out at him, making him chuckle at her immaturity. Everyone was watching this little scene play out, before turning back to Eric with their opinions at his announcements bubbling out of their mouths.

"Do we have any say in this?" Jackson demanded.

"Do we get to be the actors?" Taylor asked excitedly.

"Do we get to visit the set?" Melissa wondered aloud.

"Will they say it's based on a true story?" Nathan asked, confused.

"Will there be a book series? And how do you know all of this?" Daley asked.

"And what about Lex, Abby, Ian, Jory, and Captain Russell?" Melissa added.

Eric held his hands up in surrender, "ENOUGH!! No more questions. Now..." Eric tried to answer three questions at once, pointing to the questioner as he gave the answers.

He pointed to Jackson, "No." He pointed to Taylor, "No." Melissa. "We get to _live_ on set. And the other's have been invited there too." Nathan. "Everyone probably already knows." and Daley, "Dunno and my dad's tight with a guy who works at Discovery Kids." Eric sank back into his chair, exhausted. He lit up, however as he noticed all the food around him. He started munching on Nathan's fries, ignoring his disapproving frown.

Melissa looked confused, "What do you mean we'll be _living _there?" She raised an eyebrow at him, her excitement growing steadily.

"What do mean we won't be acting in the show?" Taylor pouted.

Eric squinted at the two girls, "They are casting _real_ actors and we get to see the whole show filmed as soon as summer break starts!" Everyone, once again gapes at Eric, making him glare, "STOP looking at me like that!"

"But that's only in three weeks!" Melissa exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"_Exactly!_" Eric cried.

All the ex-castaways all of a sudden burst out in excited chatter, except Jackson of course, who put the scowl on his face that hadn't been seen since he had been cleared of all charges of the fight he had been in before the crash. He reached his hand behind his head before remembering that he had stopped wearing his hood after they had returned to L.A., and Melissa's request. He had denied it, before the rest of the crew had chimed in, driving him crazy until he had given in.

But the others were too excited to notice as they chatted away about who would be cast as them, where it would be and how many _famous people_ they would see.

Each of them had their own idea of what would happen. But none of them were ready for what happened next.

**A/N: I thought that was MUCH better than my first copy. What about you??? Tell me if you see any mistakes and I'll correct them. I know it's still really short. It's just over 1000 words, but when I first wrote it, there was only like, 600 words!!!**


	2. Chapter II

**Title: **New Beginnings**  
Chapter: **2/?  
**Word Count: **2,303  
**Author: **Apricot Rose**  
Disclaimer: **Yes, I own the entire show and cast of Flight 29 Down. It's ALL mine. NOT!!!**  
Summary: **The castaways of the F29D crash are back. When Discovery Kids decides to make a TV show of their adventures on the island, and the actual castaways get to be there for the filming… what could happen? Friendship, excitement… maybe even romance. REWRITTEN!!

**A/N: IT'S REWRITTEN!!! PLEASE REVIEW!!! Oh, and on another note, the descriptions of the two directors aren't made up. I looked at picture of the both of them, so it's completely real.**

_**Review Replies**_

**Ole Miss Chick: **_Thanks!!! Sorry it took so long!!!_

**theatergirl: **_Thanks!!!_

**Joucelin Hades: **_Thanks!!!_

**pdyc: **_Thanks!!!_

**watched 2 much tv: **_Thanks!!!_

**UniqueStoryTeller: **_I will. Thanks for reviewing!!!_

**naturallysadie: **_Thanks… and uh, don't get your hopes to high…_

**soccerchick8: **_Thanks!!! I usually get all my ideas when I'm __**just **__falling asleep. It's unbelievably annoying, because then I have to get up and write it down because otherwise I know I'll forget it, and __**that **__makes me wake up._

**girlyworld95: **_Well, sorry it's taken me so long! Thanks!!!_

**writergirl94: **_Thanks!!!_

**Jessieebee: **_Yeah, I know, the first copy sucked. I redid it, so what do you think now? About Melissa's __**'Asian' **__eyes (Blushes), um, yeah, I changed it, because you're COMPLETELY right. I am not sure what I had taken when I wrote that. It's weird. Thanks for telling me!!!_

* * *

Melissa jumped off the plane excitedly. She looked around eagerly, she was in _Hawaii!!_ She still couldn't believe it. Her parents didn't believe in _wasting _their money on pointless things like traveling to Hawaii for vacationing. And in a couple of hours she would be in Oahu, on the set of Flight 29 Down. She couldn't wait. As she looked at her other friends she felt a feeling of Déjà Vu. While the most of them were talking excitedly, Jackson was silent. He had those damn earphones stuck into his earlobes, blasting music. And he was wearing that familiar gray hoodie with the hood pulled over his eyes, hiding his piercing blue eyes. And he had _promised _that he would stop wearing that damn hoodie after they had all tortured him for like a week about it. Did she really have to do that again?

As they exited the plane, two men waved at them, commanding their attention. One of them, looked into his sixties, judging by the little hair and facial white hair he had on his face and head. His wrinkled tanned skin was dotted with freckles. His brown eyes twinkled at them and he had a huge grin on his face. He was dressed simple in black shorts, a blue T-shirt and running shoes. The other man looked about fifty, and he retained his hair, although it was a mixture of gray and black. His brown eyes were framed by thick eyebrows, and his face was freshly shaved. He was dressed simply as well, but he was wearing a sweater and pants, not looking too swayed by the intense heat.

The older man was holding a sign stating, 'Flight 29 Downers' which was their nicknames; generously given by their fan clubs. Melissa smiled and headed over there. They both smiled kindly at her and her friends and shook their hands politely. The older man introduced himself as 'Stan Rogow' while the younger man was 'D.J Machale' but they didn't need to introduce themselves, they already knew who they were.

D.J smiled at them, "We will be directing Flight 29 Down." He stated. Taylor and Daley started whispering excitedly again. D.J gestured towards a couple of Range Rovers, "And those, will be taking you to the set." He smiled at them again. Melissa and the gang followed him. They piled into the Range Rovers, all talking nonstop, except Jackson. Melissa was seated next to D.J in the front. She was ecstatic; she was a _huge_ 'Pendragon' fan, which was a series he had written.

Melissa eagerly started up a conversation with him. He didn't seem to put off or annoyed by her questions. In fact, he also seemed eager to share his ideas with her. In return, she told him of her experiences on the island. He refused, however, to share the names of the actors that would be playing them. She was quite surprised at how well they got along, actually. Considering their age difference, she would of thought he would just smile and nod at her. She enjoyed the few hours they spent in the car immensely, talking about him and his past, and then Melissa and her past.

* * *

Jackson sat in the back seat; he was staring out the window moodily. Mel was sitting in the front seat with _D.J._ chatting nonstop. Jackson was having a hard time understanding how she was okay with this. He hated the idea of his experiences on the island being filmed. He resented D.J. and Stan for coming up with the idea in the first place. Mel and the others didn't seem too bothered by the idea. But unfortunately for him, his opinion never mattered. It never had. Even as a kid. But in their defense he hadn't exactly spoken up about this, so they had no way of really knowing, but still. Why was _he _the only one who couldn't be happy about this?

Not that they had been given a lot of information. They didn't even know who would be playing them. All they knew was that they needed to come to Oahu, Hawaii. All that mattered to Eric and Taylor was the 'Hotness' of the actors. He was planning to be a wallflower – which was something he hadn't really done since they got back, seeing as everything had been working out for him – and not get too involved with the filming. He turned his music up louder to block Eric's and Taylor's incessant chatter. It was just his luck to be stuck with the talky ones. Although Mel, Eric, and Taylor _were_ his friends - Mel and Taylor more so than Eric –, he was a little peeved at how they wouldn't shut up. He was still a little nauseous from the flight (could you blame him? He hadn't liked flying _before _they crashed!). But he wanted quiet right now, not all of this chatter.

Jackson had to admit though, Hawaii was beautiful. Probably the most beautiful place he had ever seen. The island had been really pretty as well, and because no one had ruined it yet made it even better! But still, after every negative thing that had happened there made Hawaii seem more beautiful, even though it actually _had _been tainted by men. A year ago, he never would have expected for all of this to happen, especially not to him. He sighed and turned the volume up yet again. He probably would never get used to this privileged life that he had been granted. Not that he had asked for it.

* * *

All Taylor could think about how hot the guys were going to be at the set. While Melissa was talking to the guy driving, using some really big words that Taylor couldn't understand, and Jackson was acting his moody self, the self she hadn't seen in a while to come to think about it. But whatever. She could tell that she would be popular on set, after all her father _was_ Timothy Hagan, third richest man in L.A. She looked at Eric, who was as excited as she was, he was obsessing over the looks of the mystery female actors.

Taylor knew that this was her chance. She would get all types of rolls and she would be a TV/movie star before this series was finished filming. She would get the actors and directors to spread the news about her, movie directors would be all over her. Over her like... like... well they would just be all over her! I mean, who wouldn't be? She was Taylor Hagan.

* * *

Eric stared at his blond-haired, blue-eyed companion. She was hot, he would admit. But hot female actors beat her, no questions asked (although he would never tell her – he liked his head to much). Jackson was being the same moody jerk that he had been before and during the plane crash. He was pushing himself, almost forcefully, against the window. He had his earphones in and was listening to blasting music. He was wearing the same dreary clothing that he had worn the day of the crash. For some reason, it was always dark with him. His clothing hadn't really changed since they got back, but his demeanor had changed. Now it seemed to have gone backwards to square one.

Melissa was her usual happy self. But after they had returned home, she had seemed to become a _lot_ stronger. She no longer put up with the quips that he, Jackson, Taylor, Daley and even sometimes Nathan had thrown at her. She seemed to respect herself a lot more and was able to take them down with one sentence in her sharp tone. The Mother Hen (as everyone had taken to calling affectionately when she wasn't around) was now fully covering all the areas of the position. Come to think of it, she also didn't look that bad either...

_No, Eric! This is Melissa we're talking about. The same Melissa who has been in the same grade as you since preschool._ Eric scolded himself. But still, he was right. Melissa had a good figure and now with her fiery no nonsense attitude? The boys had been all over her. Not him, no definitely not him! But she was so popular all of a sudden…

* * *

Nathan looked at Daley. Her red hair was flying in the wind and she spoke at full speed. Lex was speaking enjoyably to Stan in the front seat. Nathan frowned, wasn't he too young and to small to be in the front seat? He was Daley's brother so she could deal with him if she wanted to. He was of course, excited about the trip, but not because of the 'Hotness' of the actors (to quote a certain blond ex-girlfriend.) or because it would make him more popular. No, it was so he could get away from rules.

At home there were many rules, and on the island there were many rules. He had wanted out, but didn't have the courage to say it. He wasn't even listening to Daley anymore and he knew he would pay for it. But he didn't care. All he cared about was getting to the set in Oahu.

* * *

Daley observed Nathan's raptured face. His eyes were cloudy and the look in his eye dreamy. He wasn't listening, she knew that. But she was to excited to care or do something about it. He would pay for it later of course. But for right now, she couldn't stop the many words tumbling from her mouth about how excited she was about getting to set. She was happy to get away from her fawning fans (that she discovered she had since she had gotten back from the island) and her now over protective father.

It wasn't that she didn't appreciate it. But she liked her privacy, and although she knew that she was going to get even _less_ of that by being on a TV show set, she couldn't care less! Lex was of course, only going to be interested in the equipment that the camera people and directors were using. And Daley, of course, intended to flirt with the male actors. I mean, when there were hot male actors around, what else do you do?

* * *

Lex was impressed that Stan was able to intellectually keep up with him. He didn't really know any other adult that could. Nathan and Daley were chatting away uselessly behind him. He was shocked that Daley had let him sit in the front seat, but he wasn't going to ask her. If he did he would probably end up back there. He had simply come to see and examine the equipment that was used by the directors.

Lex pitied Jackson and Melissa, they would have to spend a few hours listening to Eric and Taylor go on and _on_ about the expected 'Hotness' of the actors who would play them. Not that he wasn't interested about which 10-year-old would be playing him; he just had more important things to fantasize about. Like the equipment, for instance…


	3. Chapter III

**Title: **New Beginnings**  
Chapter: **3/?  
**Word Count: **1,902  
**Author: **Apricot Rose**  
Disclaimer: **Yes, I own the entire show and cast of Flight 29 Down. It's ALL mine. NOT!!!**  
Summary: **The castaways of the F29D crash are back. When Discovery Kids decides to make a TV show of their adventures on the island, and the actual castaways get to be there for the filming… what could happen? Friendship, excitement… maybe even romance. REWRITTEN!!

**A/N: Okay this one is the new one. Please review!! I rewrote the other two chapters, so for this one you may need to read them. GO READ THE FIRST TWO REWRITTEN CHAPTERS PLEASE!!! THANK YOU!! I also changed the title again.**

_**Review Replies**_

**Joucelin Hades: **_Okay, __**stop **__reading my mind!!! You'll ruin it for everybody!!! I'm just kidding. Yes, I think that Daley __**would **__want to flirt with the actors. Maybe that isn't ALL she would do, but I didn't really explore all of their excitement._

**pdyc: **_Thanks!!! Sorry it took so long!_

**soccerchick8: **_No. But thanks for reviewing! _

**Captain695: **_Oh come on, who wouldn't???_

**watched 2 much tv: **

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**UniqueStoryTeller: **_…Maybe… Thanks for updating!!_

**packersgirl37: **_Thanks!!!_

**Jessieebee: **_Thanks!! Have you read the new version of the first chapter?_

**flight29downgirl2841: **_Sorry it took so long!!!_

**Undefinedliving: **_Good point._

**Sugar144: **_Thanks!!!_

**anon: **_Sorry it took so long!!!_

**YagamiNeko: **_Cool name. I actually researched both __**D.J. **__and __**Stan; **__I thought it would make the story more realistic._

**Spinniker: **_Thanks!!!_

**DonPianta: **_Um… Thanks? Well, no, actually THANK YOU!! I'm glad I was able to change your mind. I rewrote practically everything, so… go read it!!! Thanks!!_

* * *

Two black jeeps rolled into the set at about 11pm. Now the flight had been pretty traumatic for everyone, due to the events that unfolded last time they were all on a plane, so no one could really blame them for the state they had been in. Now most of them were asleep, and the remaining that wasn't were on their way. When they arrived they didn't actually notice that the jeeps had stopped moving. Stan and D.J. tried gently shaking them awake; but had to be more firm as they refused to move. It took awhile, people like Taylor, Nathan and Eric were vehement in staying put, having had experienced sleeping whenever they wanted a _lot _more than the others. Plus they were used to what effect jet lag had on you, so they were already catching up on sleep, knowing they would be a lot tired later on. Now Hawaii is about 4 hours ahead of America, so in L.A. it was only 7pm. But in their defense it had taken about 10 hours to get from America to Hawaii, and they were all exhausted.

But they were finally there, which was on the plus side. They had arrived! Taylor and Eric were hyperventilating from excitement when they finally awoke. When Jackson and Melissa had gotten out of the car – albeit sleepily – to stand with the rest of the group, she had lightly smacked his arm when he rolled his eyes at Taylor and Eric's antics. He had tried to glare at her, but he was tired, and she had gotten _really _good at reading him. So she just hit him again. His pride was hurt more than his arm. Jackson had used to be able to hide anything from anyone, except his mom. But she wasn't here, and Melissa was. The Mother Hen fulfilled her job nicely. He smiled at that thought, they were all very careful not to let her hear the nickname because with this new, stronger Melissa Wu filling the shoes of the old one, who knows what she might do to them. The possibilities were endless, and Jackson didn't want to explore them.

Stan started a speech, but Jackson wasn't interested, so he tried to put his earphones on. But as expected, Melissa had hit him again, frowned, and taken them off and away. It was a minor scuffle, and they attracted some attention. And since Jackson was unwilling to hit a girl, and Melissa was slender and _very _fast, she had succeeded in obtaining his earphones from him. She calmly put them in her pocket, and then gestured for Stan to continue. He and the others were all trying extremely hard _not _to laugh at Jackson and Melissa, making Jackson fume. He pulled his hood over his head, ignoring the look Melissa gave him. It was his damn hood and he would wear it if he damn well please!

"Anyway," Stan continued, still chuckling. He checked his watch. "The actors will be here in a few minutes, so I will give you the tour of the set later." The old man smiled again when he noticed Eric yawn, and Lex wrap his arms around Melissa's waist and lean his head gently against his hip, closing his eyes. "Don't worry, as soon as you get the introductions we will show you to your trailers. The tour can wait until tomorrow." _That _woke Taylor up.

"WHAT?!?!" She shrieked, effectively waking everyone else up. Their heads all jolted up, before sagging back down. Screw pillows, they needed sleep.

"SH!!!" The rest of them all hissed at her, wincing from the loud noise.

D.J. smiled at them sympathetically, obviously already gotten over his jet lag. "It's all right, that's the actors right there." They all turned to look at the vans that were pulling up. Seven people emerged from the van. The actors obviously. Some other people followed, but Lex supposed that was their bodyguards. Their luggage was either already taken care of, of forgotten for the moment. They approached the actual F29Downers.

Stan smiled as they all stopped in front of them. A collective group of gasps rippled through the ex-castaways. "Everybody, this is Allen Alvarado, who will be playing you, Lex." There were no shaking hands; supposedly they could all tell instinctively that no one was awake enough to be capable of shaking hands. Except Taylor. Even Eric was too tired to meet the hot actors. "This is Lauren Storm, who will play Taylor. Hallee Hirsh, who will be playing you Daley, Corbin Bleu will be playing Nathan. Jeremy Kissner plays Eric, Kristy Wu is playing Melissa. And this is Johnny Pacar, who will be playing Jackson."

Taylor hopped up and down every time, and at first attempted to shake their hands. But she was excited, making her clumsy, and it was dark. So when she tripped trying to shake Corbin's hand, she stopped, although she seemed quite happy with Jeremy catching her. It was impressive – him catching her – because the actors seemed every bit as tired as the 29Downers, obviously just arriving as well.

It was extremely dark, but Melissa could still see how handsome Johnny was. She couldn't help it – and kind of hated of herself for it – but she gasped slightly when his name was introduced, and she actually looked at him. His blue eyes were… unbelievable. They were so, _blue, _she couldn't think of anything else to describe it. He was tall, so much taller than her, which wasn't saying much seeing as Melissa was pretty short. His muscles were well-defined. Melissa was amazed at how well she could see these little details in the dark. She vaguely realized that not only was she was staring up at him, but also that Johnny was staring at her as well.

He stepped closer to her, and she had to crane her neck to see him properly. "Hi." His lips stretched to reveal white teeth. Melissa felt something in her chest flutter, but she didn't really think anything of it. All she could see were those amazing blue eyes. When she had had that small crush on Jackson for like, a millisecond, she had always liked his eyes. But now she couldn't even remember why she had thought them to be powerful. _These _blue eyes were _searing _into her own, and she could feel her breath hitch in her throat.

He must not have felt the same, because he moved his eyes from hers to the rest, "It's nice to meet all of you." His eyes moved down briefly at Melissa before he stepped back and addressed Stan. "I can't speak for the rest of us, but I would prefer to wait until tomorrow until we're predictably bombarded with questions, and we bombard you guys with questions." He grinned. "I'm exhausted."

Everyone agreed whole-heartedly with a bunch of sleepy mumbles.

But Stan and D.J. seemed fine.

"Okay, sure, that's fine," Stan responded easily, "D.J. you take the F29Downers to their trailers, and I'll take the cast to theirs. We'll see you guys bright and early tomorrow!" _He seems very cheery for an old man up this late, _Eric thought to himself grumpily. However, he was too tired to say or do anything but groan as they followed a chuckling D.J.

Melissa followed them all as well, stopping to look back to see if she could witness those eyes again. Surprisingly enough, Johnny hadn't moved. She blushed – and thanked whatever god that actually existed that it was too dark to see her flaming cheeks – and stayed where she was. She didn't want to move.

Johnny stepped closer to her again, smiling once more. "I can't wait to get to know you better Melissa. I'll see you tomorrow." He leaned down to softly kiss her cheek, and then turned to follow the rest of the cast, leaving Melissa to start hyperventilating.

When she was finally able to turn and to catch up with the others, there was only one thought passing through her mind. _He kissed me!_

* * *

**A/N: So I guess you'll be able to guess at least one of the pairings by now, huh? Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!!! I know it was short, but still... PLEASE REVIEW!!!**


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